Tip: Reinstall Windows 7 without formatting and retain all your files


Recommended Posts

People tell you that to reinstall Windows 7 or Vista, you will need to move data to an external drive, change BIOS settings, boot from Windows DVD, format hard drive, install Windows, and then recover data from external drive. No, no, no! This isn't the 90's people. Windows installer has become very advanced since the days of Windows XP. There is no need for those convoluted steps. In fact, using the method I am showing you, you can even Reinstall Windows from an ISO image without even burning it to a physical disc.

This tutorial will show you the easiest and safest way to reinstall Windows. There is no need for booting form DVD or formatting the drive. All your files and data are preserved.

If the video above doesn't play,

.

Please comment and share your feedback and/or questions. I will be happy to address them.

This is good if you don't have all your documents, pictures, music on a separate partition or drive, but otherwise, it's pretty much the same as reformatting and installing clean, since you have to reinstall all your apps. That's what takes the most time. Plus, none of his other settings are saved.

The reason why the move from Windows.old to his Documents, Pictures Libraries, etc. was super fast has nothing to do with whether you Cut/Paste or Copy/Paste. It was instantaneous because they were moved to the same partition. If you cut files from one location and paste into another drive or volume, you will see the move dialog. The only difference between copy/paste and cut/paste is that cut/paste moves the files, while copy/paste copies the files and leaves the files in their original location.

I think Nazmus, that the only advantage to installing Windows 7 / Vista this way is that you can browse the web while Windows is installing. Otherwise, it's pretty much the same as formatting and doing a completely new install.

This is great advice for people THAT ALREADY KNOW IT.

This is HORRID advice for people that don't know crap about computers. Next thing you know they will try to reinstall windows on a hard drive that is already dying and this will just kill their hard drive the rest of the way causing them to loose all of their data that they didn't backup because the moron advice from some idiot on this forum.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • This is already available in Powertoys?
    • Boob senses tingling !  
    • Great. For enterprises who don’t want to apply STIGs or CIS policies, this is the next best thing. Server 2025 is a great release; Server Core with AppCompat FOD is fkn baller.
    • HWiNFO 8.28 by Razvan Serea HWiNFO (Hardware Information) is a professional hardware information and diagnostic tool supporting latest components, industry technologies and standards. It's targeted to recognize and extract the most possible amount of information about computer's hardware which makes it suitable for users searching for driver updates, computer manufactures, system integrators and technical exteperts too. Retrieved information is presented in a logical and easily understandable form and can be exported into various types of reports. System health monitoring and basic benchmarking available too. HWiNFO32 & HWiNFO64 v8.28 changelog: Extended number of temperatures monitored (for CPUs with up-to 256 cores). Added OSD independent window without title bar. Added workaround for thermal throttling stuck sticky on Arrow Lake-H. Removed taskbar entry for OSD window. Improved support of next-generation AMD server and workstation platforms. Improved I3C bus synchronization on Intel Sapphire Rapids and later CPUs. Fixed sensor monitoring on some ASRock B850 series mainboards. Added support of ITE IT8698E. Enhanced sensor monitoring on GIGABYTE Q870M D3H. Enhanced support of Intel Wildcat Lake. Added monitoring of NVIDIA PCI Express Error Counters. Added AMD Radeon AI Pro R9700. Improved support of Intel Granite Rapids. Download: HWiNFO 8.28 | 17.8 MB (Free for Non-Commercial use) Download: HWiNFO Portable View: HWiNFO Website | HWiNFO Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Helpwire doesn't support sound transfer. This was from the first link in Google when searching for this issue!!!
  • Recent Achievements

    • Conversation Starter
      Kavin25 earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • One Month Later
      Leonard grant earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      pcdoctorsnet earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Rising Star
      Phillip0web went up a rank
      Rising Star
    • One Month Later
      Epaminombas earned a badge
      One Month Later
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      537
    2. 2
      ATLien_0
      205
    3. 3
      +FloatingFatMan
      167
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      151
    5. 5
      Som
      127
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!